I was up at 4AM and noted that it was very cloudy, overcast and a little breezy. I thought about not going out due to the heavily overcast sky, thinking there may not be good sunrise light, but I went, anyway.
My destination was the hilltop at the end of a canyon that I had scouted on the first day of my arrival. There was good color in the eastern sky before sunrise, but I was a little too late in getting to my destination in time to get shots of the best color. As I was hiking to my destination, I missed a turn into the side canyon that I had to take to get there. Fortunately, I realized my mistake quickly and only lost a few minutes as I backtracked. Still, those few minutes cost me a few possibly good shots, as the color was mostly gone by the time I got set up to shoot.
North Bisti Toadstool Hoodoo and overcast sky just after sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 2.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The heavy cloud cover eliminated the sunrise golden hour, too. I had to make do with the light that I had to work with and the clouds did add some interest to the sky, at least; but the photos are a little dull without that golden hour light and the dispersed, uniform light with no shadows made the images a bit flat.
Overcast sky over north Bisti features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 42mm, f/16, 0.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
At least, I got just a little color in the overcast sky in a few of my shots.
North Bisti toadstools in monochrome. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/16, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I considered converting most of my images to monochrome, but without the shadows, these lack the depth that help make such images more appealing.
Various north Bisti hillside toadstools. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 50mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
There were many interesting toadstool type hoodoos scattered all around the hillsides and wide vista.
Overcast sky over north Bisti features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The features in the foreground of the shot above are actually fairly large, but they are on a hillside across a ravine so I could not safely get closer.
I spotted this large petrified log in a ravine downhill to the west. The slope was quite steep here and I would not risk trying to get closer to this one. I have a number of shots of it, trying to show how impressively large it appears and the environment around it; but I think none of the shots do it justice.
Large petrified log sections and north Bisti vista. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I continued to work the area, shooting anything that I though might be interesting.
Large and small north Bisti toadstools. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Looking back up the hill from above the large petrified log is this large hillside with many toadstool hoodoos on the top and a few scattered below:
North Bisti toadstools and hillside. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 42mm, f/16, 1/6s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 3 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
These are the features that are most prominent, when first climbing up the hillside from the canyon access:
A large north Bisti toadstool and hillside. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
A close up of that rather large toadstool feature:
A large north Bisti Toadstool. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 1/6s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
And another view of the large toadstool with the vista stretching out behind it:
A large north Bisti Toadstool. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 5 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Down the hillside behind the large toadstool, I got down low behind one emerging toadstool to get this view of the sky and the vast desert vista:
A north Bisti Hoodoo’s view. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/10s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 8 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I was not satisfied with the sharpness in the first image in this post, so I made a series of images to focus stack:
North Bisti Toadstool Hoodoos. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/16, 1/13s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 7 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
{Note that a number of the previous images are created by focus stacking a number of images. I finally have had enough of the problems with Photoshop focus stacking, so after some research, I’m trying Helicon software, which is designed specifically for this task. So far, I’m really impressed with it. Helicon produces more accurate results, much faster than Photoshop and has an easy to use retouching tool, that can fix things like artifacts produced by moving subjects (for example, the clouds in these images)}.
I do not recall seeing Bisti photographs such as those in this post. I know others have hiked around this area, since I could see evidence of footprints which had been essentially removed by recent rains; but such areas of Bisti are less popular with the typical visitors and do not have the striking rock shapes as the more popular areas. Yet these photographs, when compared to those from the more popular areas, illustrate the geological variety and vastness of this striking desert wilderness.
This post is getting too long, so I will continue it in a follow up.
Thanks for following, remember that your critiques and comments are always welcome and that clicking on most of the photos will take you to the photograph on Flickr,
I walked from the campsite down towards the lake for sunset photography. This was not a really easy place to shoot the landscape, since it was so wide open and I could see details in the far distance, which I knew would only be visible in the wide angle shots, when really zooming in on the image. A long zoom lens would be necessary to see the snow covered mountain to the south of the lake.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 17mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.
The snow covered peak is in the notch in the hillside in the upper center of these photographs.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 17mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.
Compositions here were challenging. I wanted to include foreground objects like the large, lichen covered rocks scattered about and the wildflowers. The wildflowers were so small compared to the grand scenic scale that they are almost not noticeable.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm (before crop), f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.
The image above is a crop from a wider angle view, bringing out the reflection in the lake surface.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.
One can see that there were many of the large rocks that can be included in the foreground of these wide angle views.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.
Turning the camera to the left, one gets another view of the far side of the lake as the sun sinks lower in the west, extending shadows onto the hillside.
Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.
Moving a little closer to the lake, allows one to see more of the lake surface with reflections of the hillside. Note that I am still anchoring the foreground with one of the large rocks. Otherwise, I think the foreground in such a shot would be too monotonous.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.
By getting down into a marshy area very near this little channel through the grass around the lake, I got this view, which I really like. The channel acts as a diagonal leading line from the bottom right corner into the lake with a clear reflection of the far hillside on its surface and the eyes tend to move on through the image from there.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64.
I worked around the shoreline, continuing to use leading line elements in the images.
Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64.
The sun is now getting really low to the west, putting most of the images into shadow. Mountains to the west are blocking the sun light well before the sun actually sets.
The leading line in the photo above is subtle. There is a trail through the grass from the bottom right going diagonally towards the upper left.
Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 15mm, f/11, 1/4, ISO 64.
There was a swimming animal, probably a beaver, that swam back and forth throughout my shots near the lake. If one looks very closely in the water just to the left of center in the image above, one can just make out a line in the water going towards the left. That is the v shaped wake left by the swimming animal.
Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64.
I moved back close to the channel in the marshy area to get the shot above as the sunlight was fading fast from the scene. Looking closely at the notch in the hillside on the left of the image, one can just get a hint of the snow covered mountain peak in the far distance.
Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.
Turning the camera to the left, again using the leading line of the channel, one can see the clouds in the east beginning to acquire their sunset color. And again the beaver’s (or whatever’s) wake is just visible in the lake as a streak of light. Just follow the channel line out into the shadowy reflection to see the brighter line of light reflected from the wake near the center left of the image.
Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/1s, ISO 64.
And the final scene of the day, above, with sunset colored clouds in the far distance.
The images in this post are all on Flickr, so just click on the images to view them there and, preferably on a large screen, where they will look much better.
My plan for scouting was to go to the plateau where the Pedestal and Tongue Hoodoos (see posts from my March visit for preliminary information) are located, evaluate shooting options there and in the general area.
However, even though I went to the plateau, I deviated from the plan. Instead, I found a route down into the deep wash just south of the plateau and explored the wash area. From the plateau on another visit, I had seen large wing like hoodoos in the distance, but I only knew how to get near those from another longer route. This is one of the things that I enjoy most about scouting an area, results are often more interesting, when one deviates from a plan.
The Route. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
The photo above looks down the valley/wash back towards the north parking area along which I hiked to get up onto a plateau where many interesting features are found.
Along the wash route to the plateau, I spotted this saddle like feature on a hilltop:
Saddle Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Walking directly south after climbing onto the plateau, one comes to a very deep ravine/wash. I found an easy route down into the ravine.
Temporary Arch or Bridge. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Near the base of the hill just around the corner from the junction with the deep ravine, I spotted this fragile arch or bridge that had been formed by water washing down the hillside. I’m sure this little bridge will be short lived.
North Bisti Wings – The Seal. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Turning to the left in the deep ravine, one very shortly comes to the base of the hill upon which are the large wing like hoodoos in the above photo. The middle feature is the one referred to as “The Seal”. I had seen these from the plateau on the opposite of the wash and prior to this exploration, I did not know how to get to these other than walking up the wash from the east. The route I discovered today is a much shorter and faster route from the north parking area.
To get up near these features requires climbing a steep slope of loose, clay soil.
North Bisti Wings and Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
There are a few short branches off of the main wash at the base of the Seal hoodoo and I explored along these finding a few other interesting hoodoos that are easily accessible.
North Bisti Wings and Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
A view across a deep ravine, with many hoodoo features on the opposite side:
Deep Wash and Many North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
There are many flat top wing like hoodoos and others along the ravine walls:
North Bisti Hoodoos and Rocks. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.North Bisti Emerging Wing Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Another view overlooking a deep ravine:
Deep Wash Canyon in North Bisti. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
A hoodoo lined North Bisti Wash:
Hoodoo Lined Bisti Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.Hoodoo Lined Bisti Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Back below the big wing hoodoo and others near The Seal, there were interesting clouds passing over:
North Bisti Wing Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.North Bisti Wing Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.North Bisti Wing Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.North Bisti Hoodoo Wings. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Silver Efex Pro 2.
Continuing to the east along the ravine more large wing like hoodoos are high up on hillsides along the wash:
North Bisti Wing Like Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.North Bisti Wing like hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
The narrow ravine eventually merges with a wide wash in the vicinity of the Conversing Hoodoos.
A view down a North Bisti wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Just around the corner, so to speak, from the Conversing Hoodoos is a large batch of large wing like hoodoo features with one triangle shaped one:
North Bisti Triangular Hoodoo against background hillside. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.A North Bisti Triangular Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
One can imagine the triangular hoodoo as an alien space ship.
North Bisti Large Hoodoos and Wings. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Many large wing like hoodoos with some forming windows between the hard rock tops and the softer sediment beneath are in this large group.
North Bisti Large Wing Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Later in this trip I found a way to get up above or near the same level as these features, where I shot at sunset the last day of this visit. I have not yet evaluated or edited the photos from that shoot, so it remains to be seen how those turned out.
As I hiked back to the north Bisti parking area, it became very windy with rain visible in the distance. The wind whipped up dust and blasted me with sand on occasion, making the hike back a bit less pleasant.
After the best early morning golden light was gone, I continued to move around the nearby area looking for interesting compositions in the early morning light and evaluating the best time for shooting whatever I found nearby.
A north Bisti petrified tree stump casting an early morning long shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/16, 1/15s, ISO 64.
There are a number of petrified tree stumps in this area, so I made
North Bisti Petrified Tree Stumps casting long shadows in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/16, 1/30s, ISO 64.
a few images of those.
North Bisti Petrified Tree Stumps in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/20s, ISO 64.
There are many rocks in various shapes scattered around the desert here. Some are short hoodoo or toadstool like features.
North Bisti rocks casting long shadows on the desert floor in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
I converted a number of my shots from this shoot to monochrome, since I think this time of the morning with long shadows is really good for monochrome.
The rock in the top right of this photo maybe should have an xxx rating:
An apparently virile male Bisti rock. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 46mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.An early morning scene in north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 34mm, f/16, 1/40s, ISO 64.
I like the diagonal line of rocks and their shadows set against the wide open desert in the above photo.
Bisti Toadstool Rocks and Shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
These short toadstool like rock features cast interestingly shaped shadows and I like the little rock with a sliver of light highlighting it in the shadow in the foreground in the above image.
A north Bisti wilderness scene in early morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
A stark image of the Bisti desert environment is presented in the above image.
North Bisti Rocks in early morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/50s, ISO 64.
As the sediment in the desert here erodes, linear features are often revealed, hinting at the original geological deposition. Fortunately, all of the rock does not weather at the same rate. Otherwise, there might only be a flat desert with no interesting features.
Scouting photos from this day will be posted soon.
As a reminder, most of my blog photos are posted to my Flickr page and one can click on any photo that your cursor indicates has an embedded link to view the photo on Flickr, where it will look better than in the blog.
Saturday night, I was completely alone in the parking area and I did not encounter anyone else during my Sunday morning sunrise shoot. I had expected more visitors, since it was a weekend. I’m guessing there were visitors and campers in the official south parking area.
I went to the area east of the big, prominent hoodoo that is immediately visible in the distance as one begins the hike into the northern portion of Bisti from the north parking area for sunrise photography the second morning of my May visit to Bisti. This large hoodoo on a hilltop is visible from a long distance and is useful as a navigation aid.
Pre-sunrise at one of the north Bisti predominate hoodoo landmarks. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 6.0s, ISO 64.
There was good light this morning, as I shot with my 24-70mm lens.
North Bisti Wilderness Sunrise Silhouette. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64.One of the predominate north Bisti landmarks at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64.
A shot a sequence of these features as the sun rose, progressively illuminating the hillside.
One of the predominate north Bisti Hoodoos and hillside at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.A predominate north Bisti Hoodoo and hillside at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.
Note that the bottom photo is from a slightly different angle, as I had moved around shooting other features as the sun rose higher in the sky, and I did not get back to exactly the same composition.
A view towards the west between two tall features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64.A north Bisti bluff at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.North Bisti rock features and sky at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
The laminar clouds added considerable interest to the sky as the sun rose.
North Bisti features and sunrise sky. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/16, 1/15s, ISO 64.A north Bisti bluff with pedestal and sky at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 60mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.A north Bisti Pedestal and Bluff at Sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 60mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
After the best early morning light, I explored around this area looking for interesting features to shoot in the early morning light before it got too harsh. A few photos from that time will be included in a subsequent post.
I continued exploring a canyon near the Conversing Hoodoos in search of suitable places to photograph either at sunrise or sunset.
A wing like hoodoo with a hole. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Why there are such nearly perfectly round holes in so many of the flatter rock features, I do not know; but I’m sure there is a scientific explanation.
A stern bird faced hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I could not help but note how much like an angry bird this particular hoodoo looked like. I made numerous images from various points of view.
A stern bird faced hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.A stern bird faced hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Continuing into the canyon past the angry bird face, I came upon this batch of hoodoos, one of which has a very elegant, graceful lady like look. The angry bird hoodoo is visible in the background.
Graceful Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This next photo illustrates how the hoodoos are formed as the canyon walls erode.
Emerging Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Many of rocks are eroded into modern art like objects. My first impression of this one was that it could be seen as a chair, but then it seemed to morph into more of a nude torso in my imagination. Maybe some primordial force shapes my imagination!
Female Nude Torso Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The nude torso is accompanied by another strangely shaped modern art form.
Modern Art Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I wandered on down this canyon until I came to the end or, maybe more appropriately, its origin. This is but one branch off of a major wash through this area.
A view down a Bisti canyon. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
My first thought here was to turn back, ending my scouting for the day, since there only appeared to be steep, crumbly, clay soil badlands at the end of this canyon – a dead end; but then I realized that I could carefully climb out of the canyon and I wanted to see what was up above and what kind of views I could get from a higher elevation.
End/origin of the canyon. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Climbing the hill at the end of the canyon, I got this wider view of the area. The area in the lower right is the end of the canyon, while another canyon is visible in the center of the image, which somewhat parallels the branch that I explored.
Canyon Views from above. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Looking back over the canyon, that I came up, one can see where it branches off of a main wash in the upper right center and, shortly into the canyon, another branch going towards upper left of the photo.
A long petrified log with broken sections. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Continuing up the hillside, I discovered a rather long petrified log and sections that had broken from that log.
Petrified log and broken pieces. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Above the petrified log, I could see a large toadstool like rock with hints of others on the other side of the hill.
Toadstool Rocks and hints of others. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Toadstool hoodoos behind the hill above the petrified log, iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Red cap hoodoo and others. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Behind that hill above the petrified log, I found many toadstool like hoodoos emerging from the hillsides.
Red cap hoodoos and emerging ones. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Continuing to work my way around the hillside, I got a good view of the petrified log from above and I could see a way to safely get down near the log.
Petrified Log viewed from above . iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.A close up of a petrified log section. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.An end view of the long petrified log section. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I ended my scouting for today at this location, deciding to come back to this location early one morning for a real photo shoot.
I explored mostly along a route towards, around and past features known as the “Conversing Hoodoos” during my first scouting outing in the north portion of the Bisti Wilderness. Note that a few of the features in the images here were first seen by my son and I during our March scouting of this area; but we had scouted in much less of an organized manner and I wanted to record more precisely the locations of places to which I would return to photograph in better light conditions.
“Conversing Hoodoos” iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
There are numerous canyons or washes throughout Bisti. The Conversing Hoodoos are near a junction of a couple of these canyons. These were to be my first features to photograph later and I wanted to check out various angles from which these might be photographed and whether they were best photographed at sunset or sunrise of if both sunrise and sunset would work well. There are many other interesting features near these and in nearby canyons or along the canyon walls.
A large batch of Bisti hoodoos near the Conversing Hoodoos. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.“Jack Rabbit” hoodoo, iPhone photo, with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Software
I called the small hoodoo on the top of this hill “Jack Rabbit”, because it looks like a rabbit when viewed in a particular manner. This feature is just a little past the Conversing Hoodoos.
“Jack Rabbit” hoodoo close up. iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The Jack Rabbit hoodoo is difficult to photograph due to its location. A long zoom might be better for shooting this feature than either a wide angle or a moderate zoom.
The Wizard Hat. A headless hoodoo that looks like a wizard hat. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Near the entrance into a canyon just past the Conversing Hoodoos is this pointy feature that was obviously the base for a hoodoo at one time, but the cap or head has fallen off.
Wing like hoodoos in a canyon wall. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
There are many interesting features and emerging hoodoos in the Bisti canyon walls. These can be difficult to isolate for interesting photographs and their locations often limit the golden hour light with many being in shadows, when the light would be good otherwise.
Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
I continued walking through a canyon just to the east side of the Conversing Hoodoos, finding many interesting features both in the canyon and along the canyon walls.
Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
I made a number of images of one particular hoodoo to illustrate how these can look so much different depending upon the angle of view.
Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
From these two perspectives, this looks like a gecko; but others might imagine something else.
Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Continuing along the canyon, I found a feature that I referred to as “Big Mouth”.
Clam Hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Later in the day, while having a conversation in the parking lot with a group from a local mission, one asked if I had seen the “Clam”. I knew immediately that they were referring to this one that I had been calling “Big Mouth”.
Clam Hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Another view of the Clam and other nearby features in this canyon.
How did these get here? iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
I’m always amazed when I find man made objects such as these in places where one would not expect to see such thing. These appear to be automotive engine parts, but there is not anything nearby to suggest how these arrived here. I assume these must have been dumped here many years ago before this area was designated a protected wilderness.
After having scouted some of the northern part of the Bisti Wilderness in New Mexico during my March 2019 visit, but not having time during that visit to photograph in that portion of Bisti, I wanted to go back and spend more time on the north end and I wanted to go before the hot weather of summer set in. For various reasons, I had delayed going back, but I finally set out in late May. Since I was eager to get there, knowing that leaving on a Friday would maybe present problems with finding a suitable and available stop over place and staying over on a Friday would result in arriving on a weekend, which tends to be a busy time for visitors, I decided to drive straight through (about a 12.5 hour drive, according to mapping software). With stops for fuel, food and to take time to walk around at rest breaks, I figured it would take 14-15 hours to get to Bisti. I had intended to leave home around 7AM and anticipated arriving at Bisti around 9-10PM and with total darkness not arriving before about 9PM, I would not have to drive for very long in the dark. However, as usual, I got away from home a little latter than the plan, so I arrived closer to 10PM than 9PM and it was already totally dark, when I arrived at the dirt road entry to the unofficial North Bisti parking area.
As I pulled off of NM 371 in total darkness, the dirt road looked different than I remembered. I had not been there in total darkness previously. Thinking more light would let me verify my location, I switched on both the upper and lower LED light bars, which are really bright. Even with that much light, initially I could not be sure that I was in the right place and I did not want to drive into the wrong area, so I consulted my iPhone map, which seemed to confirm that I was in the correct location. Nevertheless, I proceeded with caution. As I drove along, I began to feel more confident, as I recognized features from the March visit here.
As I turned past the bluff behind which was the large, open parking area, I saw a truck and an RV trailer in the distance. Not wanting to be a nuisance with my bright lights, I stopped at the edge of the parking area and switched off the LED light bars, made sure the regular vehicle lights were in low beam, then parked a respectable distance from the RV and truck. (For some reason, people coming into such areas like to park adjacent to others, even when there is much space available).
I walked around my vehicle with a flashlight to verify that there was no problem with my parking area. I noted how dark it was there and I marveled at the infinitely many stars in the sky. Seeing a campfire near the RV, I walked over to say hello and to be sure whoever were there were satisfied that I had not parked too close to their camp. (I must have been about 30 or so yards away, but I had plenty of space to move away more). As I approached their campfire, hailing whoever was there, and I got close enough, I saw one person sitting by the campfire, then another came out of the truck or trailer. The one by the campfire was a youngish man from Denver and the other an older man from Oregon. They confirmed that they had no problem with where I parked, then the older one said, “That is quite the light arrangement you have”. To which the younger one added, “I thought I was being abducted by aliens”. So it is good that I turned the lights off, when I did, rather than leaving them on until I parked!
I saw them again from a distance in the morning, but I never visited with them again, since they left sometime the next day, while I was out in the Wilderness.
My original plan for the first morning was to go out for sunrise photos, but since I was getting to bed after 11PM, had slept only 5-6 hours the night before, I would not get more than 5 hours sleep this night, if I got up early for sunrise and I had no definite route planned to get to a destination for sunrise, I decided it best to sleep in and scout the area first, rather than wander around in the early morning darkness.
So the first morning, after coffee and breakfast, I installed the solar panels, then went scouting, adding more GPS waypoints and shooting iPhone scouting photos. This is a really remarkable place to explore. There seems to be no end to interesting features, geology and photographic opportunities.
The “unofficial” north Bisti parking area. iPhone photo.
As I was installing the solar panels, a passenger type van with a sign on the side that I could not make out, passed by and parked near the corner of the fence line at the border of the Bisti wilderness area. A number of young people got out and I assumed it might be a geological field trip, maybe from a university. I anticipated encountering that group later, during my scouting of the area, but I never saw them again and the van was gone when I returned from my scouting walk about.
Petrified tree stump with twin peaks landmark in the background. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
As I returned from scouting the area, I frequently stopped to look around and behind me to get a feel of the area and to make mental notes of landmarks. I did not encounter anyone during my walk about, but at one point, I saw a group of people on an elevated area in the distance. I assumed that they must have come from the official south parking area, which is the most popular place for visitors.
Rock Ridge Landmark. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This rock ridge image illustrates the “leading line” technique in photography, with the line of rocks leading the eye through the photograph. (Click on the photo to view on Flickr).
Some of numerous hoodoos that are found along Bisti canyon walls. iPhone photo.A wing shaped hoodoo along a Bisti canyon wall. iPhone photo.An interesting turtle like hoodoo in a Bisti Canyon. iPhone photo.A finger like hoodoo along a Bisti canyon wall. iPhone photo.Odd shape ( a bird like one?) hoodoos along a Bisti canyon wall. iPhone photo.Headless Hoodoos with a Native American house in far background. The house makes a good navigation landmark, which can be seen from far away. iPhone photo.
I was alone in the parking area, much of the day, but others began to arrive in the afternoon, going out and returning well before sunset. I noted some were crossing the fence line near the corner and walking directly into the wilderness, rather than going to the south end of the parking area, where there was no fence at a drainage crossing, which I had been using. When I saw one such group returning to their vehicle in the afternoon, I approached them and asked about the route they were taking into Bisti. They assured me it was a good direct route with easy crossings of the deep drainage. They were all from a local mission and offered much advise on the area, including where to get water locally, rather than driving 45 miles into Farmington. One of them was a Navaho, but he did not look like a Native American, and he had lived in the area for 37+ years.
Wing like Bisti hoodoos, iPhone photo.
Crossing the fence line near where I parked would save a quarter mile (one way) walk across the parking area and maybe another 1/4 to 1/2 mile (one way) of walking otherwise. I found that walking directly east along the fence line led to a very easy place to get into the drainage, then I only had to walk a few yards along the drainage to an easy exit. So I am very glad that I watched and learned from other local visitors.
Large Bisti wing like Hoodoos. iPhone photo.Bisti hoodoo with a multi-colored layered base. (Click on the photo to view on Flickr).
I shot so many photos during this scouting session that I will break this post into multiples with more frequent posts. Hopefully, the frequency of these posts will not be too much for you.
My son and I went back to the “Scalloped Rocks” area for sunset photos on our last evening in Bisti. This area works for both sunrise and sunset photography.
Scalloped Rocks Area, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
In this photo I have used the row of rocks on the right side to create a leading line into the image. I also think the empty space at the lower left visually counter balances the weighty rocks on the right and upper portion of the image.
Pre-sunset light on Bisti Rocks, Scalloped Rocks Area, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The two images above were made before the best light at sunset, as is apparent in the bottom photo. For photos taken at this time, monochrome version are sometimes best, but I still like the color version, too.
Sculpture Garden. Pre-sunset light on Bisti Rocks, Scalloped Rocks Area, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 34mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Some of the rocks in this area look like modern art sculptures.
Sunset light on Bisti Rocks, Scalloped Rocks Area, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The photo above illustrates how saturated the colors become right at sunset. Otherwise, most of the rocks in this area have rather dull colors.
The Gathering. Sunset light on Bisti Rocks, Scalloped Rocks Area, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/16, 0.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I am always amazed at how much difference the “magic” light at sunset makes in a photograph. View this photo on Flickr by clicking on it and the details will be much more vivid. I call this “The Gathering”, since there is a circle of rocks around a much smaller hoodoo near the center.
Ready to launch into battle. Two image Luminar Aurora 2019 HDR, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 1s and 2s exposures, ISO 64.
The photo above is an HDR created via two exposures of 1 and 2 seconds, so that both the sky and the foreground objects are properly exposed. This is a moderate HDR, which looks more realistic than many of the HDR effect that one can create. I can imagine a creature in battle gear in the rock feature on the left. Maybe a turtle like alien from another universe or a video game creature?
Conversing Rocks. Two shots Luminar Aurora 2019 HDR, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 44mm, f/16, 13s and 2s exposures, ISO 64.
These two last images are also HDRs. The one above is created via two images with exposures of 2 seconds and 13 seconds. I call these rock formations, “Conversing Rocks”, since I can imagine animal like faces in the upper portion of the features, with the two facing each other with the one on the right appearing to be saying something to the one on the left, who is smiling about whatever is being said.
A two image Luminar Aurora 2019 HDR. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 50mm, f/16, 6s and 20s exposures, ISO 64.
I moved in and a little to the right to get the bottom composition, making a 6 second and a 20 second exposure, then combining these in Luminar Aurora 2019 HDR software. Can you see the animal like shapes in the rocks?
The difficulty that I have with making photos with these high contrasts is getting a good depth of field, since the light is low and focusing can be difficult. One might note that the rock in the bottom right of the second image is fuzzy, so I failed to get the desired depth of field in this image.
This post wraps up this trip. I spent a week on the north side of Bisti the last week of May, so I will be posting photos and blogging about my experiences on that side of Bisti, but to add variety, I will begin to mix in post from other places. This means that I will have to get some items out of chronological order, which I hope does not create confusion.
Midday of day 7, and our final day in Bisti, my son and I returned to the north area of Bisti to explore and scout potential areas to return to later.
Petrified tree stumps in north Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
We found these large petrified tree stumps in the broad wash area that we have to cross on our way into this area.
A petrified tree stump in Bisti. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Here is another petrified tree stump we found.
A petrified tree stump in Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
And a view from the top side of the stump reveals more color from mineralization and lichen.
Beneath the x in the sky iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
My son seems to have found the magic spot beneath the big X in the sky.
Someone called these the conversing hoodoos for obvious reason. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I had GPS coordinates for features someone labeled “Conversing Hoodoos”. I had not seen photos of these, so I had no idea what they would look like; but upon finding them, it was obvious why these were so named.
Numerous wing like hoodoos in north Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
In the same general area as the conversing hoodoos are
Assorted hoodoos in the northern Bisti area iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
other large wing like hoodoos.
Large wing like hoodoos in north Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
More large wing like hoodoos that we saw in this area are in the photo above.
I’ve nicknamed this feature “Jack rabbit Hoodoo” iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
When the wing like feature above is view at just the right angle, it has a jack rabbit like appearance, hence my calling it “Jack Rabbit Hoodoo”. This feature is in the vicinity of the Conversing Hoodoos.
Many large hoodoos in Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The large wing like hoodoo features in the photo above are, also, nearby the conversing hoodoos.
Photo scouting in North Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
My son walks past one of the rock features on the north side in the above photo. Note how far one can see from an upper elevation in Bisti. This is very helpful, when navigating this area. There are landmarks that one can see from miles away from higher elevations, such as this, and use those landmarks to navigate by.
Although, we found many interesting places for photography on the north side of Bisti, we did not have time to get back to this area for either sunrise or sunset photography during this visit. I returned to this area the last week of May, 2019 and spent many hours photographing and wandering this area. That visit will be the subject of more blog posts in the future.
